The infrastructure by which digital content is consumed is extremely complex, presenting a number of technical challenges to content providers in giving their users what they want; on-demand access to high quality content wherever they are located. The channels by which digital content is delivered are highly sensitive to changing network conditions. Network traffic patterns and resulting fluctuations in available bandwidth can cause buffering events and fatal errors that adversely impact the user experience. Success in the content delivery marketplace will depend on the ability of content providers to reduce or eliminate such events.